


The Spark of Hope

by PaleEmeraldNebula



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Pete's World, Telepathy, Torchwood - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaleEmeraldNebula/pseuds/PaleEmeraldNebula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What the Metacrisis Doctor doesn’t understand, he learns from a quick trip to the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Spark of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by the awesome Sporehead! ~

It felt like someone had yanked the Doctor’s stomach and turned it inside out, though he and Rose, plus Jackie, had arrived at Pete’s World’s Torchwood without a scratch using the yellow jumper devices. He’d modified them on the beach so it would teleport the three of them directly to the source of its power, in this case the Dimension Cannon. He’d worked fast because his new human body wasn’t accustomed to the windy, cold weather of Norway.

“Finally, back home, where the other one should have dropped us off,” said Jackie, walking away from their teleport point.

Besides the heebie jeebies being back in Torchwood caused him, the Doctor worried about Rose. She hadn’t said much since the other him left. She answered questions when asked and got right down to business when they talked about how to get home, yet without her signature warmth. He couldn’t blame her. This was hardly what she expected. He knew she wasn’t happy with how things turned out, but he didn’t know if she was upset at him or _him_. Or, even worse, if she regretted their kiss.

“You’re back!” shouted Jake, coming around the corner, heading straight to Rose.

“Yeah, well, change of plans,” said Rose, gesturing to the Doctor with a nod of her head.

Jake immediately grinned and held out his hand. “Doctor, long time no see!”

“Likewise,” said the Doctor, shaking Jake’s hand and matching his grin.

“It’s good to see you again,” said Jake, his eyes wide and eager. “Your time ship nearby?”

“Anything happen while I was away?” asked Rose, cutting into their conversation, her voice strange. The Doctor cast a glance her way and wondered if that topic wasn’t something she was ready to share with other people.

“Not much,” said Jake, shrugging his shoulders. “The monsters and aliens have been quiet lately. We did get new readings for the Alabaster Project though.”

“Show me,” said Rose.

Jake held out his tablet, something the other Earth had yet to invent, and Rose went to Jake’s side to study the new readings.

The Doctor watched as Rose pointed to different areas on the tablet, deep in conversation with Jake. She used words he wasn’t used to hearing from Rose, such as quantify, theorem, and endothermic. While he felt a certain element of pride, he also felt out of place, a stranger in a strange land. Everything was new, even Rose, and he was uncertain where his place in her life was.

He put his hands in his pockets, and looked over to Jackie, who was talking on the phone. Absorbed in her conversation, Jackie didn’t even look his way. He was ready to jump in and ask questions regarding the Alabaster Project and if he could help, when he saw a door. A normal, ordinary door with a _Do Not Enter_ sign hanging above another sign that read _Hazardous Materials_. He figured the door must lead to a lab. And though _this_ Torchwood must be a better version than the other one, with Rose working for them and Pete Tyler in charge, he still didn’t trust them. That meant he should check on whatever nefarious items they kept hidden.

He glanced at Rose. She was still engrossed in the tablet with Jake. Carefully, he snuck away towards the door and took out his sonic, a spare he kept in his blue suit. The door opened with a soft click and he stepped inside a massive lab. He scanned the room and saw it was devoid of any lab workers. He went to the closest table and noted that most of the alien tech visible seemed harmless. He then went to the next and saw much the same: a spark plug to a Shadow Proclamation vehicle, a miniature power generator for a Venusian blender, a toothbrush for an Algramite, and a metal stapler for hover cars. Nothing dangerous.

Until he got to the last table.

There, sitting by itself, a large black cube floated just above the table’s surface. It glowed blue from behind its black casing and emitted an eerie tune. He hadn’t the foggiest idea of what it could be. He took out his glasses and put them on. The Doctor then stuck his nose close to the cube. The second the blue glow touched his skin, a flash of light overtook the whole room and the lab filled with items disappeared. 

The Doctor now stood in the middle of a dark, empty room. 

“Oh!” said the Doctor, hit with an epiphany. “That was a Multiphase Temporal Hexahedron!” He had either been thrown into the future or sucked into the past, but either way, it would only be for a few minutes. He could wait it out and be back to tell Rose.

But since he was here, he might as well take a look around. He walked through the door into the hall. The dark, blue-tinted atmosphere reminded him of when Pete first took him to this universe’s Torchwood. He wondered how far in the past the cube had taken him when he heard people talking.

“I just need a minute, yeah?” said the closest voice, sounding very much like Rose.

“Take all the time you need sweetheart. We’ll be down in the lobby,” replied a woman, which he’d bet his blue suit was Jackie.

The Doctor looked around the hall, utterly panicked, trying to find a place to hide, when Rose came around the corner.

“Doctor?” she said, mystified. 

Her mascara ran down her face and she wore black jeans with a blue cashmere top. His single heart skipped a beat. He’d recognise that outfit anywhere or when he went. It was an outfit that haunted him. “Rose,” he croaked. 

“How’d you get here?” she asked, rushing closer to him, a smile spreading across her face. “Did you have an extra jumper I didn’t know about?”

“I, um, well,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck, “I happened across a Multiphase Temporal Hexahedron.”

“A what?”

“A cube that teleported me backwards in time,” he said, dropping his hand from his neck.

Rose’s smile fell. Her eyes travelled up and down his figure. The Doctor had a distinct feeling that she was just now noticing his blue suit. “So you’re not supposed to be here?” she asked.

“No,” he said regretfully, “I’m sorry.”

“But you will be. You find a way back,” said Rose, her voice hopeful, “to come and get me.”

His heart sank, hating that he would have to take away that spark of hope in her voice. “Actually, you found me,” he said softly. “I...gave up trying to find a way back to you after a few months. All I could find was a small crack in the universe to send you a message.”

She took a step backwards. “You gave up on me?” asked Rose, her eyes misty with newly formed tears.

The Doctor swallowed down the lump in his throat. “Rose,” he said, the only word that he could force past his lips. He stared at her, his heart twisting and tightening as he saw the hurt on her face. He reached out and pulled her into his embrace. He kissed her forehead, his own eyes tearing up. He’d imagined all sorts of reactions Rose might have had being stuck in Pete’s World after declaring she’d never leave him. But actually seeing her look so miserable was much, much worse than his imagination. He wished he could make her smile again.

After a moment, Rose pulled back. “You’ve only got one heartbeat.”

He didn’t know how to tell her what had happened and knew telling her that he had split in two wasn’t going to go well. It would probably only add to her misery. “Yeah,” said the Doctor, ducking his head, “that’s a bit of long story.”

“Can you tell me?” she asked softly, reaching out to touch him on the face.

He took a deep breath. He couldn’t get into it and he had more important things to deal with than trying to delicately word that the man she loved had both left her and stayed with her. “Rose, I don’t know how much time I have and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but you can’t remember seeing me here and now.”

“Why?” asked Rose, sniffling. She snatched her hand away from his face, like he’d stung her. “It helps, knowing I find you.”

“Because we don’t know how that knowledge will affect the future,” said the Doctor, his heart sinking further as he saw a tear fall down Rose’s cheek. “The whole multiverse could be in danger if I let you keep this memory.”

“Yeah, or maybe it’s this memory that keeps the multiverse safe,” said Rose, sounding determined.

“We can’t risk that,” said the Doctor. “Besides, the next time you see me, this me, I don’t think you remembered this moment. If you had, what happened on the beach would have gone very differently.”

“Beach? What beach?” asked Rose, her brows knitted together.

“Rose,” he said, holding onto her shoulders, “you have to let me take this memory from you. I promise the next time I see you I will give it back.”

She studied his face and he waited. The moment he’d realised where and when he was, he knew he couldn’t let her see him, but he’d been too slow. It may have been selfish of him, but being able to live a life day after day with Rose wasn’t something he wanted to give up or change. Even if she did regret kissing him, he’d do his best to earn her love back. After a moment, to his great relief, she nodded. 

“Thank you,” he said, then kissed her forehead again. “Once I take the memory from you, I’ll make it so you’ll believe you fell asleep after being left alone. You’ll wake never knowing this took place.”

“And you’ll give the memory back to me the next time you see me?” she asked.

“I promise,” said the Doctor softly. He gazed at her and wanted to make use of this opportunity that would never come again. He would rectify a mistake that had plagued him since he lost her at Canary Wharf. He wanted her to know, without having her say it first, how he felt. “Rose Tyler,” he began. “I love you.” He didn’t whisper it in her ear and this time, time hadn’t run out.

She gasped, her bottom lip falling. He took that moment to lean in and kiss her. As he kissed her, he took the memory of their meeting and she fell asleep in his arms. Gently, he laid her on the floor. He looked at her one last time before rushing to find a place to hide. He took three steps before he was surrounded by a flash of white light. 

Now he stood in a brightly lit hallway. 

“There you are!” cried Rose. 

He turned and saw her, wearing her blue leather jacket and black jeans, rushing to him, a look of complete panic on her face. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed in relief. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, relieved that he hadn’t messed up the future. Rose held onto him for almost thirty seconds before leaning back to look at him.

“Where have you been?” asked Rose. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”

He could try to explain, but he had a promise to keep. “First, there is something I need to give you,” he said, glancing around for a private place to return her memories. “This way.”

He took her hand and opened the door to the nearest cupboard. He then squeezed them inside and shut the door.

“Doctor,” said Rose, “maybe this isn’t the best place for it.”

“This is the perfect place,” replied the Doctor. “Cupboards make the best hiding places.”

She smiled doubtfully at him. “I know you’re happy to see me Doctor, I am too, but don’t you think we should celebrate it properly and not in a cupboard?”

“What?” he asked, confused as to what she was talking about. The only thing that got through to him was that she was happy to see him. Did that mean she wasn’t upset at him?

“Didn’t you want us to,” said Rose, hesitantly, “you know?” She stared at him pointedly.

It took him a few seconds to understand. “Oh!” he said, “Oh, you mean...” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Didn’t you mean --?” she asked.

“No,” he said with a smile, “but that’s a lovely offer. We can get back to that later.” He felt much lighter knowing that she seemed okay with the idea of them being intimate.

“So you needed to give me something else?” she asked, returning to her businesslike manner.

“Yeah,” he whispered and pulled her to him. Softly, sweetly, he leaned down to kiss her. He let his lips linger, wanting to never let go of her, though he knew that they couldn’t remain in a cupboard forever. He carefully returned her memory.

She gasped and leaned back. “That was you?”

“What was me?” He didn’t know if she was referring to the memory or something else he hadn’t known he’d done in the past.

“I dunno, just,” she said, glancing down, a frown set on her lips, “before I saw you, after I got stuck here the first time, I was already determined to get back to you.” She looked up at him. “But it was hard, yeah? I should have felt hopeless. But I didn’t. You must have not removed the memory completely, because I always felt hopeful I’d see you again.”

“Well,” he said, “I’m part human, I’m not sure what that means regarding my telepathic abilities.”

“Then it worked out,” said Rose. “Because that hope kept me going, especially on days when the Cannon failed or we lost a comrade.”

He stared at her and saw her in a new light. Though the cupboard was dark, he could see the lines on her face, the age in her eyes, and recognised his own pain within them. The reason for her businesslike manner and colder demeanor became apparent.  “How many comrades did you lose?”

Rose glanced down again. “Four,” she whispered, “and one time it was my fault.”

He pulled her into another embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “I think the other me got it wrong.”

She laid her head on his chest. “About what?”

“Maybe not wrong,” said the Doctor. “He was right about you making me better, because you did, but he was wrong about you making me, this me, better. I think this time around I'm supposed to make you better.”

She looked at him and gave him a small smile. “How about we make each other better?”

He met her eyes. He saw so many things in them: their future, their shared pain, and a plea for a happier tomorrow. No matter what, he’d show her the universe again, even if that meant a smaller, more personal universe. “You, Rose Tyler, have got a deal.”

Rose smiled at him, a few of those lines already smoothed over by the happiness shown on her face. He beamed at her.

Suddenly the door to the cupboard opened, pouring bright light into their small space. The Doctor looked to see who had opened the door and found Jackie Tyler standing before them. “This isn't the place to get on with it!” yelled Jackie. “I know the both of you are eager -- Lord knows I was that way with Pete -- but anyone can find you here. And think of the scandal it would bring to your poor father.”

“We were,” spluttered the Doctor, “We just…”

“We were only talking,” Rose finished for him.

“Yeah, ‘just talking’ alright,” said Jackie skeptically. “Come on you two, let’s go home.” She walked off, down the hallway.

The Doctor and Rose left the cupboard silently and followed Jackie through Torchwood. Rose reached out to take his hand and the Doctor felt warmed by the gesture. He smiled at her again and she returned it with a brilliant smile of her own. Knowing only a small part of what Rose had gone through, a new sense of understanding her came to him. But there was a renewed hope as well, and he knew that he belonged, if only to make sure Rose smiled that way every day, for now on.

Before they reached the town car waiting for them, Jackie stopped and turned to them. “And there will be hell to pay if I find alien cum on the upholstery. I just changed it last week and I don’t want it ruined before we can even have a proper get-together.” 

Rose bit her lip to keep from laughing and the Doctor found out just how much his new human body could blush.


End file.
